How Much is that Needlehog in the Window?
by TheMoonclaw
Summary: Ceodore Harvey had never been allowed to have a pet. - There was probably a good reason for that...


**Someday, I'll stop posting random stuff and you can all have your Fandom back.**

 **But today is not that day.**

 **Here is one of the byproducts of my get together with Mythweaver and Freida_Right in real life this year. It spiraled out of control...all well. Your welcome.**

 **Not to be taken TOO seriously...hehehe**

* * *

Ceodore Harvey had never been allowed to have a pet.

His parents had also told him he was allergic to every kind of fur, and for a long time he believed them.

Why wouldn't he? It wasn't like they would lie to him.

He was allergic to fur, just like he was allergic to milk, peanuts, dust, mold, bee stings, pollen and shellfish.

As it turned out, he learned years later that his parents were just being overprotective. Rosa figured out that he wasn't allergic to anything on her list.

He still never questioned her about animal fur, though.

But his grandmother had a cat, and that never seem to bother him when he visited her. But regardless of if he did or did not have allergies, he had still never had a pet. It was slightly disappointing.

Maybe that was what compelled him to free the Needlehog he'd come across in a leg trap alongside the road one day. The things were nasty, messy, smelly, and dangerous, but it just looked at him with such sad, pleading eyes that he couldn't refuse.

Five spines to the arm later, he almost wished he had left it to die, but nevertheless, he succeeded in freeing it from the trap and set it upright on its feet.

The thing bared teeth at him, holding one foot up, as if it couldn't put any weight on it.

Ceodore winced and yanked one of the spines out, regretting it as the wound was exposed to air.

"Ow! Thanks a lot…I just saved you, you know…" he complained, looking at the other spikes and frowning.

The Needlehog didn't move, but continued to quiver, showing teeth with its razor-like hairs standing on end.

The price worked on pulling the other spikes out, unloading quite a few healing spells in the process, and finally tossed the last one aside.

"Just normal spines," he muttered. "I guess I should be glad you didn't discharge the poison ones, huh?"

The creature just stared at him.

It hadn't made any moves to attack him, or run away, and so he carefully reached out a hand towards it.

It jabbed said hand with another volley of spikes. Luckily they all missed, but Ceodore lurched back all the same.

"Stop that!" he complained. "I'm trying to help, alright?"

It watched him warily, but this time he was able to tap it on the head, between spines.

"See?" Ceodore whispered, carefully petting it as much as he dared. "Not so bad, right?"

Realizing he should get back, he stood slowly, watching the creature. It just stared at him, head tipped quizzically.

"Well, see you." he said, waving.

But as he started to walk away, he had to turn and look back once more. The poor Needlehog was limping, and it hadn't gone far.

And it was looking at him.

And it was kind of cute.

* * *

Trying to get it into the castle without anyone noticing was a feat in of itself. It required the use of his scarf, a barrel, a hand pushed cart, a bushel of apples and some really good excuses.

Finally he deposited the Needlehog onto the floor of his room and it burst free from the scarf and ran straight for the bed, disappearing from sight.

Ceodore sighed. "Great, now I have to work on getting you out from under there. I suspect I'll have to deal with more spines…"

* * *

"If I have to listen to one more lecture on the importance of wearing my helmet all the time," Kieran ranted. "I'm going to flip out."

Ceodore gave him a look, "What else is new?"

His friend glared at him, "Shut up, Ceodore."

"I'm just saying," he commented, shrugging.

Kieran made a funny face. "What happened to your arm?"

Ceodore quickly yanked his sleeve down, back over his wrist and forced another shrug. "N-nothing."

His friend raised an eyebrow.

"Really!" the prince exclaimed nervously. "Nothing."

Kieran stared for another minute and then shrugged, "Whatever. I've got to go on patrol. See you around." He gave a halfhearted flick of his hand as he turned away. It was probably supposed to be a wave.

Ceodore exhaled once his friend was out of sight and tugged on his sleeves again. He thought he had healed the puncture wounds from his pet's latest…accident. At least, healed them enough where no one would notice the remaining marks. They were surprisingly deep.

Speaking of his pet, he should probably check in on him…

* * *

Ceodore stared wide-eyed and open mouthed at his room.

Everything was knocked over, and everything that had any sort of cloth or fabric was torn to pieces and strewn towards the bed, where the biggest disaster was.

The batting was pulled out and the blankets were torn into strips. Everything was curled into a spiral, dead centered on the floor.

Nestled inside was the Needlehog, sleeping.

Ceodore slapped both hands to his face and groaned.

* * *

The library had a remarkable lack of information on what, exactly, Needlehogs ate. In fact, he had no idea what most fiends ate.

People?

Regardless, there was one person who would know, and so he drafted a vague letter to Cuore.

A few days later she replied that they mostly ate the tops of flowers, but also leafy greens and nuts and berries. She asked why he wanted to know, and mentioned coming to deliver an unpronounceable item to Cid and Luca soon.

Ceodore chose not to reply or answer her question.

Cuore failed to mention how _much_ the Needlehog ate.

Ceodore had ran out of the flowers he'd picked from the side of the road, near where he'd found it in the first place.

The creature was rooting through his bed, looking for more.

He scowled at it and pried a spine from his leg. He was pretty sure that was an accident and it hadn't meant to stab him.

He'd need more flowers soon.

* * *

Ceodore hadn't been in his mother's garden in almost a year, and usually he didn't care when she went on and on about what flowers were blooming when.

But he had to admit, even at midnight, it was impressive.

And there were so many flowers. She probably wouldn't notice…

* * *

"My flowers!" Rosa gasped. She was staring at her garden from the safety of the opening archway, hands partially outstretched towards her defiled sanctuary.

"What…happened?!" she demanded, stepping out into the pathway for a closer look.

Kain looked uninterested and didn't follow. "I don't know. Wild animals?"

She whirled around to glare at him, "What kind of _monster_ would do this?! Only eat the tops of my flowers?! _All_ of them?!"

Ceodore flinched from the hallway and peered around the doorway, chewing on his lip.

Okay, so maybe he had taken more than a few.

"It was the first year that they actually bloomed!" the queen continued to lament. "No magical accident with mages, no rampaging chocobos, no Cecil trying to 'help' and making things worse…"

Ceodore felt guilt slowly clawing at his insides, along with a healthy dose of fear that she'd discover it was him.

"Find whoever did this!" Rosa declared, holding up a ruined daisy stem.

Kain sighed, completely indifferent.

Ceodore followed him away from the garden, mostly because he didn't want his mother to ask him anything about it. He was a terrible liar, and she would know it was him.

"So…um…" he stuttered. "What are you going to do when you find who did this?"

Kain rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure if I happen to find this ' _culprit_ '-" here he raised both hands into air quotes. "-that Rosa will want a public execution."

Ceodore laughed nervously.

* * *

No matter how many times he cast Curaga, the throbbing in his side from the latest round of accidental stabbings wouldn't stop.

Ceodore hissed as he prodded the area and glared at Harold, as he had taken to calling his pet.

"That really hurt, you know." he scolded at a whisper.

He was paranoid someone would hear him and find out his secret. It was both terrifying and thrilling.

Harold just looked up at him, chewing on a rose petal.

He sighed, dropped his shirt and propped his chin on a hand. "I guess I'll have to go to the infirmary again. Maybe this time I can get out of there without any questions…"

* * *

Ceodore rummaged through the cabinet, looking for the supplies of what he would need to treat his injuries.

"Ceodore?"

He jumped, startled and turned around, knocking one of the empty bottles off a nearby table. It shattered on the ground and he winced.

Viola raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you…"

"Ha," he chucked nervously. "No, um, I'm sorry…just…looking for something…"

She walked a few steps closer, "Are you hurt again? What was it this time? Another door? The same staircase?"

Ceodore grinned sheepishly. "Just…a training accident."

Viola crossed her arms, "You are a terrible liar. What is going on?"

Thinking quickly, the prince sighed as if he was about to confess something. "Well, I've been practicing…you know, white magic stuff, but…I need…"

"Supplies?" the woman said. "Why didn't you just say so in the first place?"

"I figured you were busy and that I shouldn't bother you." he remarked. That was at least the truth.

Viola smiled and let her arms fall to her sides once more. "Well, don't do anything dangerous, alright? And if you need help or have questions, feel free to ask me. Rosa will certainly be glad you're taking more of an interest in white magic."

That caught his attention. "Huh?"

"Oh," the woman said, retrieving something from another table nearby. "She's mentioned a few times that she wishes you would spend more time truly training your white magic. I'm sure knowing your practicing will make her happy."

Ceodore was pretty sure once she figured all this out there was nothing that would make her happy.

* * *

Harold was clawing at the stone flooring again and Ceodore nudged him with his foot. "Stop that!"

The Needlehog looked up at him and blinked.

"No, I'm not feeding you. You're getting fat as it is and I'm almost out of flowers."

He started scraping at the floor again.

Ceodore groaned.

There was a loud series of knocks that rattled his door.

"Ceodore!"

He winced. Kieran did not sound happy.

"Um…hang on a second," he said, glancing around, looking for a place to hide Harold. Not that it mattered. His entire room was torn apart by the beast and things were strewn everywhere.

He finally just tossed a blanket over the creature and ran to get the door as another round of bangs hit against it.

He opened it just enough to look out and frowned, "What?"

Kieran crossed his arms. "Why does your mom seem to think I destroyed her garden?"

Ceodore blinked, "Wait, she what?"

"She thinks I pulled all the tops of her flowers off." Kieran said, rolling his eyes. "Why, I have no clue, but she does. Do you have any idea what actually happened?"

"Er…well…" he said, wondering what to say.

There was a crash from inside his room.

Kieran made a face. "What was that?"

"Nothing!"

His friend pointed to his arm. "And why do you have those marks on your arm again?"

"I don't!"

"And what's that smell?"

Ceodore tried to slam the door in his face but Kieran caught it with his forearm and used his other hand to shove the prince aside and enter.

Harold was standing on his back feet, reaching up to eat the remaining flowers on top of the desk, blanket wrapped around him like a cloak.

"What is that _thing_ doing in here?" Kieran asked, reaching for his weapon that wasn't actually attached to his back.

Ceodore finished pulling him inside and shut the door, "I can explain,"

Harold gulped down the last flower and dropped to all fours again, staring at them while chewing.

Kieran closed his eyes and held up his hands. "Wait. Do I want to know?"

"It's not a big deal," the prince started.

The dark haired young man stared at him. "That is a Needlehog. You realize this, right?"

"He's harmless," Ceodore assured him, crossing his arms.

Kieran looked unconvinced. "Which is why you've had wounds on your arms for over a week, I suppose?"

Ceodore hesitated. "Well, he's kind of covered in spikes, so…"

"Please tell me you didn't name it." Kieran asked.

"Um…"

His friend groaned. "Crystals, Ceodore. That is a fiend! Most people bring home a puppy or something to hide from their parents, not an actual monster!"

"Harold is harmless," he repeated. "And I'm training him to not…you know, destroy everything…"

Kieran glanced at the flower petals scattered across the flooring. "Wait…did you…pick all the flowers?"

Ceodore winced.

His friend started laughing. Flustered, Ceodore smacked his shoulder.

"Oh, this is too good…" Kieran said, mostly to himself.

"You can't tell anyone!" Ceodore exclaimed, holding up his hands. "Please! I really, really think Harold is nice, and his leg is still kind of messed up so sending him into the wild would probably get him killed!"

The dark haired young man crossed his arms. "Seriously, Ceodore, this is not a pet."

"Look," the prince complained. "I never got have a pet, okay? I was allgeric, just like I never got to have peanuts of strawberries!"

"…But you _are_ allergic to strawberries,"

"That's beside the point," Ceodore replied, irritated. "The point is that Harold is fine, and he's a great pet! You can't tell anyone. Please promise me you won't…"

Kieran smirked, "Oh, what fun would telling on you be? I just can't wait for everyone to figure it out. Now _that_ will be fun." He turned, starting to chuckle again. "Enjoy your pet, Ceodore."

* * *

Harold had spent the entire night turning his bed into nothing but a pile of batting, torn blankets and pillows. He had finally curled up once the sun had risen, falling asleep.

Ceodore was beginning to think Needlehogs were nocturnal.

Regardless, he got no sleep since he had been relegated to the floor, not to mention the noise from his pet. He was sure that this was going to be a fun day.

Everything started out normally, but he was paranoid Kieran had already told half the castle about his secret, and so his first priority was finding his friend.

He finally just asked Kain.

"He's on gate duty," Kain replied.

Ceodore frowned, "I thought he was off today,"

"He was, but there's five people out sick today from the guard alone." Kain said, shaking his head. "It's annoying."

"Out sick?"

The dragoon shrugged, looking indifferent. "Something about weird spots or…I don't know. Anyway, I have to go before Rosa finds me."

Ceodore blinked. "Huh? Why?"

"Because she's mad I haven't found the flower thief," he said, stalking away.

The price winced.

Apparently his mom was taking this very seriously.

* * *

"Crystals!" Ceodore hissed, yanking another spike from his side. "Damn, that hurts…"

Harold grunted and curled into a tighter ball on his bed.

Ceodore glared at him, "You little bastard…"

The last spine was on his back and he fussed for a few minutes, trying to reach it. Finally he groaned and collapsed onto his bed, face first, next to the Needlehog.

He felt what was left of his mattress shift and felt a rough tongue swipe over his cheek. Ceodore wrinkled his nose, but didn't feel up to pulling away as the creature continued to 'clean' his face.

"Yeah, yeah, you're really sorry…it's my fault for startling you, I guess…"

There was a knock at the door and both Ceodore and Harold froze.

"It's me,"

He breathed a sigh of relief at Kieran's voice and half rolled, half climbed out of the bed and limped over to the door.

Kieran frowned at him as he opened the door. "You look like you're having fun with your pet,"

"Shut up. What do you want?" the prince snapped, exasperated.

"A day off," Kieran answered before shrugging. "But that's not going to happen. Anyway, I'm here to tell you that Cuore is here and is on her way here, so you might want to meet her halfway."

Ceodore sighed, "Great…wait, why is she here?"

"I don't know. She said she sent you a letter," Kieran replied, giving him an odd look. "Didn't you already know?"

"Oh...um…sure." he said. "Can you maybe get this out for me?"

He gestured to his back and was unprepared for Kieran to wrench it free without a word. He gasped and glared over his shoulder at his supposed friend.

Kieran grinned, holding the spine up. "Yes, apparently I can."

He moved to leave, but Ceodore caught his arm, "Wait! Can you watch Harold for a little bit?"

"…Tell me you are not serious,"

"I can't leave him alone!" Ceodore pleaded. "He's lonely."

The look Kieran gave him was total disbelief.

"Er…okay, or you don't have too…"

Kieran held up his hands and walked away, as if he couldn't even think of anything to say.

* * *

Cuore had been chatty about some airship project she was apparently helping Luca and Cid with, which turned out to be why she was visiting. But she also mentioned that she had to be back home within the week for some event.

Ceodore felt badly for not paying better attention, but his back hurt from where that needle had hit him. It made it hard to sit or stand, as any movement or pressure caused it to start throbbing again.

By the time he made it out of Cuore's sight, the sun was setting. He quickly chanted a low-level healing spell, hoping to take the edge of the pain, and opened the door to his room.

It was silent.

He frowned and looked around.

Then he began to panic.

Harold was nowhere to be seen.

Ceodore searched the room from top to bottom; in every drawer, behind every piece of furniture, under every blanket.

His pet was gone. Probably slipped out into the castle somewhere.

It someone found him wandering the halls, they would just assume that it was a fiend, and they would take action.

"I have to find him!" Ceodore cried, racing from the room.

He continued his search through the castle corridors, not caring if someone thought his behavior was odd. He was too afraid of just where his pet had gone.

Was he trapped somewhere?

Had he already been discovered and dealt with?

What if he never found him?

He had searched through all the surrounding hallways near his room and hurried down the stairs to the next level, assuming that the Needlehog would have gone down, rather than climb upwards.

Finally he rounded a corner and found his pet chomping on some flowering stems that were in one of the decorative vases they placed in corners. He had balanced his front paws on the rim and was reaching for the last remaining blossom.

Thankfully the hallway was empty.

"Harold!" Ceodore hissed.

The Needlehog lazily looked over its' shoulder before dropping to the floor.

"You are in so much trouble!" Ceodore complained, striding over. "Come on. I've got to get you back before someone sees you,"

Harold hissed when he reached out, spines going up on end.

"Hey! Don't you dare,"

The Needlehog narrowed his eyes at him.

Ceodore took another step forward.

* * *

He really should have been used to the sting of needles by now.

Harold rolled around on the floor, tangled in a scarf.

Ceodore glared at him, dabbing the wound on his shoulder with potion residue. "And now you've ruined another scarf. Wonderful."

He'd managed to drag his pet back to his room without anyone noticing. There were a few close calls, but thankfully once Harold figured out who was trying to corral him, he settled down.

Somewhat.

Harold blinked innocently at him and Ceodore frowned. "Don't look at me like that. You know what you did."

Now free of what was left of the scarf, the creature waddled over and nudged his knee. Ceodore sighed and pat his head. "Yeah, yeah…"

Harold reached into his lap and started chewing on his shirt.

"Hey!" the prince complained, pulling it out of his teeth and quickly putting it on. "Stop that. You have enough fabric for six nests, so no, you can't have this."

Harold climbed into his lap and propped himself up on his arm to try and reach his hair. He snapped his teeth.

Ceodore leaned as far as he could away, annoyed and a little disturbed.

"Er…this is new."

The Needlehog yanked on a strand of hair once he got it in his teeth. Ceodore winced. "Ow! Stop!"

He pulled away but ended up jabbing his cheek with a spike in the process. "Ow!"

There was a knock on his door.

He tried to shove his pet away, but Harold was persistent and continued to try and nibble on his hair.

"Ceodore?" Cuore's voice called through the door. "Are you in there?"

"Yeah! Just a second!" he called, shoving Harold again.

The Needlehog curled into a ball and rolled with the momentum of the push, colliding with a nearby table leg. It clanked and a bowl fell from the edge, smashing on the floor.

Startled, his pet jumped back into his lap, stabbing him with several more spines in the process.

His door opened and Cuore poked her head inside, looking concerned.

Ceodore froze, Needlehog in his arms and stared wide-eyed at her through the spines.

She raised an eyebrow. "Why are you cuddling a Needlehog?" she asked.

Kieran looked over her shoulder, "Oh, meet Harold. Ceodore's pet."

The prince glared at him, irritated, and tried to pry the creature from his face before he got stabbed again.

Cuore entered the room, looking confused and slightly repulsed. "You're keeping a fiend as a pet?"

Ceodore sighed, "It's a long story," He winced as a spine jabbed him in the nose.

Cuore crossed her arms. "You realize those carry leprosy, right?"

"Wait, what?" Ceodore said, blinking at her.

Kieran leaned against the door frame. "No,"

"Yes!" Cuore said, nodding.

Ceodore sighed and gave up trying to pry the terrified creature from his person. He even let him go back to chewing his hair. "Harold doesn't have leprosy."

"Leprosy takes up to twenty years to manifest symptoms." Cuore countered. She frowned. "How many of those spines have you been stabbed with? They carry toxins."

"He only tends to use the non-toxic ones," the prince explained. "He's not bad. He just gets startled easily."

Kieran rolled his eyes. "Ceodore, _all_ the spines have toxin,"

"They…do?"

"Did you read the fiend field guide?" his friend asked in disbelief.

Ceodore scowled, "Look, I get that you don't want me to keep him, but I am! He's great!"

Cuore and Kieran exchanged a glance.

Ceodore frowned, knowing exactly what they were thinking. He winced as Harold tugged on a piece of hair rather sharply. Come to think of it, his claws were kind of digging into his shoulder, too.

"So…back to this leprosy thing," Kieran said. "You don't think that's what the spots everyone has is, do you?"

Cuore shrugged, "Possibly. But unlikely. Leprosy is usually only transferred through-"

She was interrupted as Harold sneezed and sprayed mucus all over Ceodore's shoulder. The prince made a face. "Second time today…"

Cuore blinked and finished out her thought with a wary tone of voice. "-Through nasal discharges."

Kieran snickered.

Ceodore glared at him.

Cuore glanced at the dark haired young man. "I rescind my earlier assumption the spots weren't leprosy. Now I think that's exactly what they are."

"Harold isn't sick!" Ceodore insisted.

"Sure he isn't," Kieran commented. "You know your dad had those spots today, right? Rosa is freaking out about it because she has no idea what it is, and Viola tells me that white magic doesn't work on them."

"No, I didn't know that, because I haven't talked to my parents today." Ceodore snapped, finally growing tired of Harold clinging to him. He set him on the floor.

"Touchy," Kieran mumbled.

Ceodore flicked some of the mucus at him.

"Whoa! Careful. Immune deficient here," Kieran said, stepping back. "I do not want to get leprosy."

"No one has leprosy!" Ceodore practically yelled.

Cuore watched as the Needlehog shuffled under the bed, hiding from them. She frowned. "Maybe you should tell your parents,"

"No!" Ceodore said, scrambling to his feet. "They'll make me get rid of Harold! He's not bad, or sick, or anything and I've never had a pet. His leg isn't even better yet, I can't let him loose outside!"

Cuore sighed, eyeing him.

Ceodore realized he probably looked like an idiot, disheveled and covered in needles. And mucus.

"Please don't tell anyone," he pleaded, wringing his hands.

Cuore sighed again, but nodded. "Alright."

* * *

"Stop scratching it!" Kain snapped, smacking Cecil's hand.

Cecil winced but went back to itching the back of his wrist. "I can't help it. It hurts."

"You told Rosa that cream she used helped,"

"I told her that to make her feel better," Cecil retorted. "She's overly stressed about this apparent epidemic of spots."

Kain stared at him. "In other words, you lied."

"Yes, kind of like you did yesterday about having a suspect for the flower debacle."

Ceodore watched the exchange with growing unease.

Cuore just couldn't be right.

It wasn't leprosy.

He hoped.

Kain sighed. "Yes, and then there's that. By the way, Cuore was telling me Edge wants to talk about airships again."

Cecil groaned, "Not again…tell him these spots are really dangerous and we couldn't possibly meet with him right now."

"He'll never buy that since Cuore is here." Kain disagreed. "Better to inform him of the decapitations."

"Decapitations?" Cecil asked in confusion. He had moved from picking at his wrist to his elbow.

"Rosa's flowers."

"Ah."

Ceodore chewed his lip, making a mental note to read more about leprosy the first chance he got. Just in case.

"Ceodore?"

He looked up, "Huh?"

"Are you alright? You are very quiet." Cecil asked.

He shook his head, "Yeah, I just…these spots are kind of…concerning."

Kain rolled his eyes, "Not really."

"You're just saying that because you don't have them yet," Cecil muttered.

* * *

"I hate you." Kieran hissed, glaring at Ceodore.

The prince winced, books on medical conditions, including leprosy, clutched under his arm. "I'm sorry, I really am."

Kieran raked his nails across his neck where a series of spots were. "If I die from this, I'll find a way to become a zombie and get back at you, I want you to know that. Crystals, these do itch…"

Ceodore frowned, "You are a horrible sick person,"

Viola entered the room and shooed the price away. "Ah, ah, people who don't have whatever this skin disease is, out. I'm convinced this is transferred by touch, so beat it."

Kieran reached out and ran his hand across Ceodore's face.

"Hey!"

His friend smirked, "Hope you get sick,"

Viola sighed, "Kieran, really?"

He shrugged and went back to scratching. She batted his hand away. "Stop it, you'll make it worse."

Ceodore resolved to find the cause of this and the cure.

* * *

Harold was being surprisingly lethargic as the sun set, and Ceodore couldn't have been happier. It gave him time to go over the books he'd collected for research.

The spots could have been leprosy, from everything that he'd read, but he just wasn't willing to believe it. Not yet.

Half the town was reporting spots and other skin issues now, and nearly the entire castle, as well. People were out sick with other problems as well, but they all had one thing in common; spots.

There was a knock at his door followed closely by Cuore's voice.

"Come in," Ceodore called, looking up. She slipped inside, a frown on her face.

The prince gazed at her quizzically. "I thought you were heading home today?"

"That will be difficult with no pilots to take me," she replied back, crossing her arms. "Besides, my father wrote a snide letter saying that I wasn't allowed to leave the 'leper colony' and risk bringing it home with me."

Ceodore winced, but quickly scowled. "I'm telling you, it's not Harold!"

"It's not just the spots, you realize." Cuore countered. "People are also throwing up now, and complaining of extreme fatigue."

Tired, the prince sighed. "Even if it _was_ leprosy, how would we treat it?"

Cuore appeared thoughtful, but he just shook his head. "I don't know…it doesn't matter, anyway. Even if I got rid of Harold now, everyone would still be sick."

Harold suddenly made an odd sound and Ceodore glanced up, looking over at his bed. Cuore and he exchanged a glance before crossing the room.

Ceodore's eyes widened at what he saw nestled in the copious amount of fabric.

Cuore tipped her head to one side. "Oh. Apparently Harold was a 'she'."

* * *

"So, I think…maybe this is what caused the spots," Ceodore finished, too embarrassed to look up.

There was a long, forbidding pause. Kain was the first to break it.

"What the hell?" he asked in total disbelief.

Rosa put her hands on her hips, "You brought a Needlehog into the castle? What would possess you to do something like that?"

"Where did you even find it?" Cecil followed up. He was busy picking at red mark on his cheek.

Ceodore winced, eyes still on the floor. "Well, I found it on the side of the road, and it was hurt, and…I…well, I'd never had a pet before, so…"

"My flowers," Rosa echoed, realization dawning on her. "It ate my flowers…"

"Er…yes," the prince mumbled. "I sort of…picked them, though."

She looked more shocked then mad and he flinched again.

Kain crossed his arms, "So, to recap; we have a leprosy outbreak, a Needlehog that is living in your room, and no garden of which to speak of,"

"Well…" Ceodore began, finally lifting his gaze. "I decided to tell you finally because…well…Harold kind of sort of had…babies last night."

The three adults stared at him long and hard.

"Of course she did," Cecil muttered, shaking his head.

Rosa buried her head in her hands and groaned. "Ugh! How am I supposed to even treat leprosy?! I've tried every spell, every tonic, every ointment…"

"What are we going to do about a Needlehog and her children?" Kain asked, holding one hand out.

They both glanced at Cecil, clearly wanting him to have an answer. He frowned, "I do know one thing."

"What's that?" Ceodore said, leaning forward in hope.

"Edge isn't bugging us right now. That's always a good thing."

* * *

Cuore watched the Needlehog mother nudge her babies, six in total, deeper into the blankets.

"I suppose we should have realized she was making a nest," the teal haired girl said thoughtfully. "And eating more…"

Ceodore sighed from across the room, sitting in his chair and staring at the creatures. He rested his chin on the back of the chair. "I'm more worried about the rest of this…and where are we going to put Harold?"

"I suppose back into the wild," Cuore replied, glancing at him. "You can't keep them, you know."

"But…"

She gave him a stern look. "Ceodore."

"I know, I know…" he mumbled. "I am sorry about all this. It got…kind of out of hand."

"Someday this will be the fun story we tell people and everyone will laugh," she said helpfully. "But today is that is not that day. Today we need a solution to the leprosy problem."

He nodded and racked his brain for answers. Sadly, he didn't know anything that would help.

Harold suddenly made a hissing sound and Cuore blinked, looking back over. "That's odd…"

"What?" Ceodore said, lifting his head slightly.

Cuore gestured to the bed just in time to see Harold push a dried strawberry off the edge and drag the peach and apple slices back into the nest.

"Why isn't she eating the strawberry?"

Ceodore snorted. "Maybe she's allergic, too…"

Cuore picked up the fruit and held it aloft. "I…don't think so. This is rotted."

"That's freshly dried, just like the others." he argued. "The kitchens had crates of them. They came in…"

He paused. "Wait. Those crates came in around the same time as I brought Harold in."

They both hurried to the door.

* * *

Viola triumphantly held up a tube of oil looking salve. "I give to you…a treatment for those spots!"

"What were they?" Ceodore asked, leaning forward.

Rosa nodded, "Yes, if not leprosy, then…what? I couldn't figure it out."

"Well," Viola explained. "I had no idea either until Ceodore mentioned the dried strawberries weren't fresh, then it occurred to me that maybe this wasn't a disease at all. Maybe the skin problems were caused by allergies or something."

"And?" Kain prompted.

"Parasites." the white mage said, shrugging.

Ceodore recoiled. "Ew."

"You see, the strawberries we got in were fresh, but I suspect they contained parasites that caused the skin issues. Once they started to go bad, the kitchens dried them, but that didn't deal with the parasites." Viola explained.

"I guess that's why I never got spots," Ceodore muttered. For once, he was glad for his allergies.

Cecil sighed. "Alright, do we know what farm these came from so we can make sure nothing else of theirs is around?"

Viola grinned, "I tracked it down. They were imports."

"Great." the king muttered, crossing his arms. "So which country can I bomb with airships?"

"Troia." she answered.

Everyone in the room groaned. Kain rolled his eyes. "Of course. It would be there."

Ceodore glanced around. "So, did we tell them their stuff has parasites?"

There was a hesitation he could basically see.

"We'll…get to it." Kain said vaguely.

Ceodore got the feeling they were purposely taking so long in informing the other country of what had happened. He just wasn't sure he got why.

"But anyway, I'm brewing up more of this treatment. Should relieve the spots and discomfort in a few days. As far as I can tell, the parasites are long gone and the skin problems are just their little parting gifts." Viola said, handing the vial off to Rosa.

"This is very good work Viola," the queen praised, frowning lightly. "I couldn't figure it out myself."

Viola smiled, "Oh, well, I did have help."

"I never would have thought you would be doing so well as the senior white mage. Not after all the troubles you had when we were still in school together. Well done." Rosa finished.

Viola frowned, "…Thanks, I guess…"

Cecil pointed at the ointment. "You're sure that will work?"

"Yes, I tested it on Kieran already." the white mage answered.

Ceodore crossed his arms. "I guess that just leaves what to do with Harold…"

"I'm fine by the way, thank you for asking!" Kieran called from the other side of the wall.

They ignored him.

"Ceodore, you can't keep Harold." Rosa said gently.

He sighed. "I know, it's just…going to be hard to say goodbye, is all…"

* * *

Harold nudged her children ahead of her, into the underbrush on one of the less used trails. They lumbered out of sight, one at a time, until only the mother remained.

She looked back.

Ceodore sighed and held up his hand in a wave. "Goodbye, Harold. I hope you stay safe…"

The Needlehog stared for a moment longer before following her babies, disappearing with a rustle of leaves.

Cuore set her hand on Ceodore's arm. "You did the right thing. I know it's difficult."

"Yeah." he muttered. "She was my first pet, and…I didn't really appreciate her like I should have…I do hope she has a good life…"

Cuore smiled and squeezed his arm. "She will. You made sure of that."

Ceodore looked after her for a moment longer before sighing. "Come on. Let's get back."

Cuore nodded and looped her arm around his, walking side by side towards the castle.

* * *

"This is your fault." Ceodore said, glaring.

Kieran pressed a hand to his heart. "Mine? How is it my fault you got sick because of toxins in your system? That's on you for letting a Needlehog stick you with spines over the course of two weeks."

"It's your fault because you said you wanted me to get sick!" Ceodore retorted, glaring at his friend. "Now I am! Happy?"

Kieran gave him a once over, lying in bed with a fever, covered in blankets. He smirked. "Kind of."

Ceodore shoved him.

Kieran chuckled. "Hey, look on the bright side. It's not leprosy."

* * *

 **Author's Note: So yes. This. Insanity. I make no apologies.**

 **Ceodore would totally bring fiends home as pets...hehehe**

 **Cecil is my favorite in this, and usually I find him boring.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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